Another NFL season has come and gone and the Kansas City Chiefs are once again Super Bowl champions.
The Chiefs are the first team to win repeat Super Bowl titles since the 2003-2004 New England Patriots and with their win, Kansas City’s duo of Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes enters a similar “dynasty” territory the Patriots had with head coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady.
Unfortunately for the Houston Texans, this is a team they’ll have to deal with if they ever want to compete for a Super Bowl title or even just advance to their first AFC championship game in franchise history. Mahomes will be there at the end of the tunnel for years to come.
As Houston enters a pivotal offseason where they will need to make dramatic improvements if they want to compete with Kansas City, here are four lessons from Super Bowl LVIII they should remember.
Defense wins Championships, too
While it was generally Mahomes who saw most of the attention from the media regarding the Chiefs, the real development of their season was elsewhere for the Super Bowl champions. Specifically, it was their defense.
Kansas City finished second in the NFL in points scored and yards allowed, and by most advanced metric they were a top-10 defense in virtually any category. They had plenty of All-Pro caliber talent with cornerbacks Trent McDuffie and L’Jarius Sneed as well as defensive tackle Chris Jones alongside excellent supporting cast members for defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo. The unit provided Mahomes with the most support he’s ever seen on the other side of the ball.
It was the defense that held San Francisco to just 19 points in regulation and limited the potent 49ers running games to fewer than 4 yards per carry. It may not be the sexy part of the team that everyone is talking about, but the Chiefs emergence as a top defensive unit is the main reason they were able to power their way through the playoffs this year. Otherwise, it may have been impossible to work through Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson and the high-scoring Miami Dolphins to arrive at this point.
Houston head coach DeMeco Ryans said that a big goal for the team will be to boost the defensive line and the front seve. Kansas City’s victory should serve as a reminder that this is an important and quite feasible path to championship contention. That could include spending big to retain names like Jonathan Greenard and Sheldon Rankins or swinging big on the talent pool in free agency with names such as Justin Madubuike and Frankie Luvu available.
The Texans do not have to be the “Greatest Show on Turf” to win a Super Bowl, they can do it Ryans’ way.
The Shanahan Offense is not Invincible
On that same note, another reminder from this game is that the Kyle Shanahan-offense is not invincible. This is his second Super Bowl loss to the Chiefs since 2019 with perhaps his best all-around roster to date.
It is a style of offense that has grown in popularity and praise around the league, but even the 49ers found their struggles against an elite defense Sunday night. Just because conceptually the offense may be in vogue, it does not mean that it will always lead to perfect outcomes.
It wasn’t even a bad game from the 49ers offense, they ended with 382 total yards, two touchdowns and surrendered just one sack on the day. However, it was not the offensive explosion one might expect from the mind of Shanahan.
This marks the 3rd Super Bowl offense Kyle Shanahan has had a double digit lead, and not won.
— Benjamin Allbright (@AllbrightNFL) February 12, 2024
Offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik is returning to Houston for a second season and will have high expectations in the second year of that same style offense around quarterback C.J. Stroud. The Texans will have to find ways to improve how they run the ball and generate explosive plays if they want to keep up. As the NFL steadily finds answers for an offense that once had none, the Slowik offense will have to evolve as well.
Keep up the elite special teams
Special teams matter. It’s usually the component of a game that’s the least talked about, but it made a big difference in the Super Bowl. The 49ers fumbled a punt return and missed a key extra point in the fourth quarter. Without these gaffes, it’s likely that San Francisco could have won the game without ever needing to go into overtime.
Instead, these key moments gave ample momentum to Kansas City and allowed them not only to stay in the game, but eventually to win it.
Texans Special Teams Coordinator Frank Ross goes nuts when RB Dare Ogunbowale kicks a 29-yard field goal. Kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn out with an injury. pic.twitter.com/khwRrhrPZw
— Mark Berman (@MarkBerman_) November 5, 2023
The Texans have had some of the best special teams in the NFL under coordinator Frank Ross. The emphasis on this component of their team and continued high performance in this area is a great way to win close football games and to ensure that the team does not beat themselves.
The Texans should feel good about this area of their operation entering the offseason and hopefully that focus and effort on the details will continue.
Gratitude for C.J. Stroud
Everything is easier with an elite quarterback.
San Francisco quarterback Brock Purdy had a fine game – he finished 23-of-38 attempts with 255 passing yards and a touchdown. He had no turnovers and took just one sack on the contest. Unfortunately, it was not his lack of mistakes that stood out but rather the lack of big plays.
As a Texans fan the only thing that really gives me hope for competing is that Stroud does tend to make just as many magical bullshit throws as Mahomes.
But for the AFC teams that don't have aliens at quarterback…I don't even know what they're supposed to do at this point.
— Brett Kollmann (@BrettKollmann) February 12, 2024
Offensively, Purdy paled in comparison to the greatness of Mahomes, who finished with 333 yards and two touchdowns. Mahomes actually made more mistakes with a third quarter interception and three total sacks on the day, but those errors are ones that teams are willing to live with for the talent upside.
The Texans should feel very excited that Stroud is on the roster. He represents the caliber of talent that is needed to feel good facing a quarterback like Mahomes in big game situations. Their ability to provide good infrastructure for Stroud and help him to take a leap in the second year will be pivotal as to how quickly they can compete for a Super Bowl title.
Without a franchise-caliber quarterback like Stroud, most teams around the NFL can’t help but feel helpless watching last night. It’s hard to assemble a better roster than what San Francisco did this past season which leaves the arrow to contention firmly pointed towards quarterback play.
Houston is fortunate not to fall in that bucket, now it’s time to capitalize.
